Lever and toggle actuated log gripping device



April 8, 1952 c. SOUTH. 4

LEVER AND TOGGLE ACTUATED LOG GRIPPING DEVICE Filed Feb. 7, 1949 2 Sl-lEETS-Sl-IEET 1 Inventor Char/es 500M, Deceased Adminisframk.

jr-26 r /a /22 L. -T F 1 64 0 Wear Q I o 50 56// a0 y Dorothy Mae South, )j

Patented Apr. 8, 1952 LEVER AND TOGGLE ACTUATED LOG GRIPPING DEVICE Charles South, deceased, late of Idaho Falls, Idaho, by Dorothy Mae South, administratrix,

Idaho Falls, Idaho Application February '7, 1949, Serial No. 74,954

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in lo gripping devices for sawmill carriages, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a power actuated device of this nature to replace the conventional manually actuated device, whereby the gripping operation may be effected conveniently, expeditiously and, above all, with security and safety.

This object is achieved by embodying in the gripping device a power actuating means in the form of a hydraulic jack, and an important feature of the invention involves the provision of efficient means for adjusting the gripping mechanism to a log while slices are being successively taken from the latter by a saw.

The adjusting means mentioned in the preceding paragraph are effective in a vertical as well as a horizontal direction, and another feature of the invention involves the provision of locking means for simultaneously securing the adjusting means in the vertical as well as the horizontal direction.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its adaptability for use in association with saw mill carriages of various types and with logs of various sizes, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a'front elevational view of the invention in situ on a saw mill carriage, the latter being illustrated in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the invention per se;

' spring 44 will Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional detail, taken substantially on the plane of the line 33 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional detail, taken substantially upon the plane of the line 4-4 in Figure 3, and;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a pressure exerting member used in the invention.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of a log gripping device designated generally by the reference character to, the same embodying in its construction a vertically elongated support l2 formed with a plurality of apertures l4 (see Figure 2) whereby it may be conveniently secured to a saw mill carriage i6, the support I2 having horizontally angulated upper andlower end portions 18, 20 which are formed with vertically aligned, polygonal apertures to slidably receive a vertically disposed bar 22 of a polygonal cross tional hydraulic jack 30, actuated by means of a V handle 32, is disposed between the extensions 24, the piston 34 of the jack being secured in the aforementioned member 28 by a suitable screw 36, while the base 38 of the jack is secured by additional screws 40 to a mounting plate 42 provided at the upper end of the bar 22. It will be apparent from the foregoing that when the handle 32 of the jack is actuated so as to slide the piston 34 outwardly or upwardly, the bar 22 will be caused to slide downwardly. However, a suitable tension spring 44 is anchored at one end to the base 38 while its remaining end is similarly anchored to a strap 46 secured to the member 28 by the aforementioned screw 36, so that when the jack 30 is permitted to contract, so to speak, the draw the bar 22 upwardly to its initial position. 1

A carrier 48 is slidably adjustable on the bar 22, this carrier being substantially U-shaped so as to embrace or engage three sides of the polygonal (square) bar 22, while a shank 59 of a gripping dog 52 is engageable with the remaining or fourth side of the bar. The shank is slidably adjustable transversely of the bar 22, (the shank being substantially horizontal) and a pair of spacers 54, constituting components of the carrier 48, are provided above and .below the shank 50 so that they constitute guides for the latter. A plate 56 is provided on the outside of the shank 5i! and also constitutes a component of the carrier 48, the plate 56 and the spacers 54 being rigidly secured to the main body portion of the carrier by a plurality of screws It should be understood that the dimen 58. sions of the components 48, 54, 56 and 50 are such that the carrier, as a whole, is freely slidable in a vertical direction on the bar 22, and that the shank 50 of the dog 52 is freely slidable in a horizontal direction in the carrier, so that by virtue of this arrangement, the usual pointed extremity 60 of the gripping dog may be adjusted vertically as well as horizontally so as to properly engage a log 62 point.

However, means are provided for simultaneously locking the shank 50 in the carrier 48 and the carrier 48 on the bar 22, these means consisting of a laterally extending bracket 64 provided on the plate 56, this bracket being of an f inverted U-shaped configuration and carrying on the carriage It at any desired a handle assembly 66 which is pivotally mounted therein by a pair of opposing screws 68. The handle assembly 66 includes in its construction a socket member 70 which is pivotally mounted between the side portions of the bracket 64 by the aforementioned screws 68 and is formed with a screw threaded bore 12 to receive a screw threaded end portion of a shaft 14 (see Figure 3), which shaft, in turn, is secured in the socket by a suitable lock nut 16. A tubular sleeve 18 may, if desired, be provided on the shaft 14 and may be secured hereon by a pair of additional lock nuts 89, 82, as will be clearly apparent.

A substantially cylindrical pressure exerting member 84 is slidably disposed in an aperture 86 formed in the plate 56, the inner end surface of this member being engageable with the outer face of the shank 59 so that when pressure is exerted on the member 84, the shank 59 is brought in firm frictional contact with the bar 22. The outer end portion of the pressure exerting member 84 is bifurcated as at 88 to receive one end portion of a link 98 which is pivotally secured therein by a transversely extending pin 92, the remaining end portion of this link being similarly connected by a further pivot pin 94 to a pressure transmitting member 96.

The member 96 includes a substantially cylindrical portion which is slidably adjustable in the aforementioned socket I9 and is engaged by the inner end surface of the shaft 74, as is best shown in Figure 3. If desired, the cylindrical portion of the member 96 may be formed with a longitudinal groove 98 to receive a set screw I provided in the socket 10, this screw being intended merely to prevent rotation of the member in the socket while sliding of the member in the socket is facilitated.

When the invention is placed in use, the handle 66 is raised in the direction of the arrow I92 and the carrier 48 is slid downwardly on the bar 22 so that the point of extremity 68 of the gripping dog 52 engages the log 62 at a desired point. If necessary, the dog 52 may be adjusted by sliding the shank 50 in the carrier 48 and when these adjustments have been made, the handle 66 is simply lowered to its horizontal position as shown in the drawings, during which action the ressure transmitting member 96, engaged by the inner end of the shaft 14, will transmit pressure through the medium of the link 99 to urge the pressure exerting member 84 in the direction of the arrow I94 (see Figure 3), thus firmly urging the shank 59 against the bar 22. It is to be noted that the central axes of the pivot pins 92, 94 are offset as indicated at I06, so that a toggle action is present which will eliminate any tendency of the handle 66 to be raised by opposing forces after the mechanism is locked by downward pressure on the handle to retain the shank 59 and bar 22 in firm frictional engagement.

The handle 32 of the jack 39 may then be oscillated so that the bar 22 together with the carrier 48 and the dog 52 are urged downwardly, whereby the pointed extremity 69 of the dog is firmly embedded in the log, substantially as shown.

Needless to say, the device may be readily released for subsequent gripping operation by simply permitting the jack 36 to contract and raising the handle 66 upwardly as indicated at I02.

The adjustment facilitated by the screw threaded portion of the handle shaft 14 in the socket 10 is intended to compensate for any wear such as may eventually develop between the inner end surface of the pressure exerting member 84 and the shank 50 and between the shank and the .bar 22, this adjustment .being effected by simply loosening the nuts 76, 80, 82 and turning the shaft 14 so as to urge the member 96 outwardly from the socket 10, that is, toward the member 84. While this adjustment is primarily intended to compensate for wear, it may also be made before the invention is placed in use, so as to assure that the toggle linkage 84, 99, 96 functions satisfactorily when the handle 66 is lowered to its locked position, as will be clearly apparent.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be readily understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the claimed as new is:

In a device of the character described, the combination of a carrier having a strap shaped element slidable therein and including a side plate provided with an opening and a laterally extending bracket on said side plate, a locking lever pivotally attached to said bracket, a pressure transmitting member carried .by said lever, a pressure exerting member slidable in said opening and abutting said element, and a link pivotally connected at opposite ends thereof to the respective pressure transmitting and exerting members, whereby the latter may be i'rictionally engaged with said element to lock the same against sliding in said carrier, said lever including an inner portion pivoted to said bracket and provided with a socket having said pressure transmitting member slidable therein and with a screw-threaded bore communicating with said socket, a screw-threaded handle extending into said bore and abutting the pressure transmitting member whereby the latter may be slidably adjusted in the socket by rotation of said handle, and a lock nut provided on said handle and abutting said inner portion whereby the handle may be locked against rotation.

invention, what is DOROTHY MAE SOUTH, Administratrz'a: of the Estate of Charles South,

Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 379,440 Bennett Mar. 13, 1888 382,555 Redick et a1 May 8, 1888 392,841 Beard Nov. 13, 1888 483,224 Knight Sept. 27, 1892 1,772,052 Martin Aug. 5, 1930 2,223,644 Smith Dec. 3, 1940 2,320,303 Ross May 25, 1943 2,391,604 Wallace Dec. 25, 1945 

